As a junior in high school, it is difficult to stay on track with my fitness and nutrition goals. School parties, sweet sixteens, sleepovers (or any other social gathering for that matter) all make it hard for me to avoid temptations and keep up with my normal gym schedule. To my friends, I am known as a “healthy teen.”
On top of this, not many of my friends are as interested in their health as I am. They don’t understand why I resist those cookies or don’t drink soda. They criticize my lunch because I don’t take a snack, and question why I always order a salad.
With all of this being said, let me tell you about some of the everyday struggles I, the healthy friend, must endure.
1. The “Why is your lunch so small?”
This is one of the worst. My lunch is small because I don’t feel the need to fill my lunchbox with processed junk food and sugary drinks. I pack healthy, nutritious foods and water to keep me satisfied and feeling energized.
2. The “Just eat one.”
Many times, my friends will bring in food for our lunch table, and I will kindly turn down their offer. If they question why, I just say that I am trying to eat well and avoid junk food. However, I often get comments like, “One isn’t going to hurt you” or “Just eat one.” And will one hurt me? No. But do I want one? No.
3. The “Just skip the gym”
If I am ever invited to sleep at someone’s house, I will always tell them that I will have to be picked up around 10 a.m. the next morning so I won’t have to completely mess with my routine gym schedule. My friends don’t understand that going to the gym is important to me, and while it is completely fine for someone to skip a day at the gym, I would rather not. So leave me and my gym schedule alone.
4. The “Why do you care so much about what you eat?”
Now this one. This one bothers me. I understand that some people don’t worry as much as I do about what they put in their bodies, but why do they have to worry about what I put (or don’t put) in my body? I care about the nutrition label more than some, but to each his own. People don’t comment about people eating cookies, so why should they comment about people not eating them.
5. The “But you’re not even fat”
Did I say I was? Do you have to be overweight to want to eat healthy? No and no. I have a right to enjoy healthy foods and work out. Being healthy is a choice I make, not something prescribed by a doctor.
Living a healthy lifestyle is something to take pride in. No matter what your friends tell you, be proud of the choices you make, whether you are eating a salad or a big slice of chocolate cake.